BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Bills knew exactly what All-Pro edge rusher Von Miller would bring to One Bills Drive when they signed him to a six-year, 120 million dollar contract this offseason.
Coming into Sunday afternoon's matchup with Kansas City, Von was the team leader in sacks on the year with four. His two sacks on Patrick Mahomes certainly came up in big time situations. But his impact on defense was so prevalent today that judging his performance based solely on sacks would undermine that. Miller tallied four total tackles and two quarterback hits to compliment his pair of sacks.
"You could feel him out there the entire game. He was phenomenal," says head coach Sean McDermott.
Miller was brought to Buffalo for games and moments like the one we got on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bills needed a guy on defense that could close out games and make big plays against talented offensive weapons like Patrick Mahomes. He did just that when he forced Mahomes out of the pocket late in the fourth quarter that resulted in Taron Johnson's game sealing interception.
"I'm sitting on the sideline it's third down and I'm like come on Von, come on Von. And sure enough he goes out there and makes a bunch of plays."
When Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs came off the field after the Bills took a 24-20 lead late in the fourth, he went straight to Von Miller saying simply, "finish it."
"He's a high-level player. He's a superstar. One of those guys that you lean on. We watched the Dream Team last night for motivation and to put us in a good head space of we're ready for the moment. The guys that are called upon when its time are going to show up. And they did. Von is that guy that we'll lean on. And those players that we needed to make big plays when it mattered the most and he did that."
For Von this spotlight is nothing new. He's made his sure to be Hall of Fame career off of making big plays when it mattered the most. But doing it for his teammates in a similar situation that brought so many heartbreak back in January, is the ultimate payoff for Miller.
"That's why they brought me to the Denver Broncos. That's why they traded me to the Rams last year. That's why I'm here. It's in the job description. it just feels so good to come here with these great group of guys and work so hard. Putting in the sweat. All the long days at training camp. And to get here and come out on top is good. We'll see those guys again. So we'll celebrate this one tonight. We've got a bye week coming up. Then it's back to business.
Von and the Bills will head into a bye-week before the Packers come to town Sunday October 30th for Sunday Night Football.
